The Rotorua roofer was pipped by favourite Scott Winton, who rapidly closed on him in the last kilometre of the 42km race on Saturday. But O'Callaghan said he was lucky just to get over the line.

"All I remember is trying to take a step and my leg just wouldn't hold my weight," he said yesterday. "I forced my way back up but wanted to collapse again when I got to the finish line. I was devastated.

"I had jelly legs all down the last straight. I thought I could hold on, but I couldn't."

O'Callaghan, 27, who finished second, broke away from the other competitors about six kilometres from the end and at times was 200 metres ahead.

At the 41-kilometre mark he had a 40-second lead but knew Winton, from Pakuranga, was closing fast. "I knew he was coming. If I could have kept up my pace, I would have been all right but he was speeding up. My lungs were all right but my legs were all pain.

"The crowds were shouting, and my mind was going a little bit. Then when he started sprinting I had to match him. My legs just went and that was it."

He finished the race six seconds after Winton, who crossed in 2h 27min 14s.

How gutting for the guy - and a rather graphical blowing of the foo foo valve